Chewing gums comprise many ingredients including sweeteners. Sweeteners suitable for chewing gums include both natural and artificial sweeteners. Recently, the high intensity artificial sweeteners have been the focus of investigation for use in chewing gum.
High intensity sweeteners may be hundreds of times sweeter than natural sweeteners such as sucrose and glucose. High intensity sweeteners of recent interest include aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamates, saccharin, and now sucralose. Sucralose is a new high intensity sweetener which is a tri-chlorinated sucrose derivative and is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Sucralose has been reported to be much cheaper than aspartame and at least 3 times sweeter. Compared to some other high intensity sweeteners, sucralose has a sweet taste more similar to sucrose. Chemically, sucralose is known as 4,1',6'-trichloro-4,1',6'-trideoxy-galactosucrose, or alternatively 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-(.beta.)-D-fructofuranosyl 4-chloro-4-deoxy-(.alpha.)-D-galactopyranoside. In addition, sucralose is also referred to in short from as TGS. Its use to sweeten substances including oral compositions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,343,934 and 4,389,394 which are incorporated herein by their reference.
One of the limitations of chewing gum is that the sweetness and flavor are rapidly lost during chewing. Thus, chewing gum producers are constantly trying to extend the time in which a consumer of chewing gum can enjoy its flavor and sweetness.
It is known that the sweetness and flavor can be extended in chewing gum by using high levels of high intensity sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and cyclamate. The extension properties of those sweeteners, however, are limited by their release characteristics during chewing of the gum. Providing a chewing gum having improved sweetness and flavor extension is one object of this invention.
It is also often desirable to produce a chewing gum having a rapid release of sweetness and flavor upon chewing. The flavor and sweetness of fast release chewing gums, however, dissipates quickly during chewing. Thus, the consumer who desires an initial sweetness impact during chewing must sacrifice the enjoyment of long lasting sweetness and flavor. Similarly, the consumer who desires a chewing gum having a longer lasting sweetness and flavor must forego the sensation of an initial sweetness impact. Providing a chewing gum having improved sweetness and flavor extension in combination with an initial sweetness impact upon chewing is a further object of this invention.